Self-lowering jack



May '1, 1923;

' C. W. RIPSCH ET AL SELF LOWERING JACK Filed'June 27, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY May 1 19213.

C. W. RIPSCH ET AL V SELF LOWERING JACK .4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 27 1921 INVEN TOR. 67/4215: 44 Azwcz/ I Jaws: C.. 'DzE A TT0RNEY May 1, 1923. 1,454,029

C. W. RIPSCH ET AL SELF LOWEBING JACK Filed'June 27 1921 ,4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR (WI/F155 ymewscn Jam-1s 1 flwmcsy.

AT I'ORNEY May 1 C. W. RIPSGH ET AL SELF LOWERING JACK Filed June 27 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR C/WWPAES w-ra m m Jams-s c: Emma v.

ATfQRNEY Patented May 1, 1923.

CHARLES WILLIAM meson m) JAMES c. nnwmsnz', or DAYTON,

TO THE oYon-cnInLANn COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A 'oonro e 0, Assielvons' AT-110N101 IQ- sELF- 'oWERING JACK.

. kpplica-tion'filed June 27, 1921. Serial No. 480,540.

a jack whiehniay be suspended from a car.

journal, or other fixed support, with its litting element beneath the part to be lifted, andin which the lifting re'lenl-ent may be moved downwardly by the weight of the load and such downward movement con-s trolled by the operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self lowering jack in which the power multiplying devices employed for raising the load may be utilized as retarding de vices, on theIdownward ii'io veinent of the lifting element, which will reduce the power transmitted from the lifting element to the controlling device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a jack of this kind which will be simple in its constriiction :and of a strong durable character.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the device is described in detail. I

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is :1 side elevation, part-1y broken away, of a jack embodying" my invention. the journal box being shown in section; Fig. 9. is a top plan view, partly [in section, of the lower end of the jack; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the lower end or the jack, partly in section; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4i'-'4 of Fig. .3; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken through the brake drum forming part of the controlling device;

6 is'a side elevation of the lower portion of the jack, partly in section, showing a modified form of controlling device; Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 7'7 of Fig. 6; F int. 8 is a side elevation of the lower portion of a ack, partly in section; showing another form of controlling device; Fig. 9' is a sectional view taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 8; Fig; 10 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the jack partly in section. showing-another modification of the controlling cl evlce; F ig. 11 isa section taken on, the line 11-11 of Fig. 10; and Figf12 is a plan View; partly 12 -12 of Fig. 10.

' In these drawings we have illustrated one embodiment of our invention, with certain modifications thereof, and have shown the in section, on the line same as applied :to a car jour al box'iia'ck j of the type shown and described in Patent No. 1,869,432granted February 22,1921 to John A. Hope, butit will be understoo'd that this particular type of jack .has'be'e n shown for the purposes of illustration onl'y a'ndthat the invention may be appl'iedto jacks I various kinds and may talre various terms without departlng "from the spirit thereof.

. In that form Ofrblle device heres'hown the jack comprises a supportingfra ne fl which is shown as substantially (J-shaped andh-as its upper end adapted'to be supported by the car journal, which is shown at 2. The

end or the name lis shown as extend- 1 ing through the open end of the journal box 3 and as connected with a supporting device 4 which'ehgages the flanged end of the j our- 231 and forms a fulcrum point for the jack rame.

a screw threaded shank '5 having ahadtl Ili'e'lower portionoftheframecar r'ies a lifting element adapted "to engagebem to engage the load. the pjresent instance,

the screw c'lo'es not rotate but {is screw threaded into a nut '7 which is jo'urnaled in a suit able bearing 8 in the lower portion of the jack frame and this nut is rotatedto'impart vertical or lifting noveinent to the lifting element. Rigidly secured {to the nut is a worm wheel 9 rneshing with a mini 10 carried by a shaft 11 extending transversely through the frame 1 and journaled infithat frame at the opposite ends of the worm. The shaft may be operated, to -rotate;the worm, in any suitable manner but in the present instance it is ratchet operated-"and we have shown the shaft as projecting beyond one side of the frame and having s'e-.

cured thereto a ratchet wheel 12, which the form shown has relatively small V'- shaped'teeth. Cooperating with this ratchet wheel is a reversible dog, or pawl, here shown in the form :of a bar 13 :inoiinted for sliding movement in a guideway 14 formed in a lever socket 15, which is adapted to receive the operating lever 16. The guideway 14 is arranged substantially in the plane of the ratchet wheel and the pawl 13 is provided with two sets of teeth, 1'? and 18, adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel when the pawl is moved from one position to the other. These two sets of teethare separated by a recess 19 and their arrangementis, such. as to give the pawl substantially a double wedge shape. The pawl is held in its adjusted positions by means of a spring-pressed detent 20 mounted in the le ver socket and adapted to engage either one of three notches 21, thus serving to hold either set of teeth in engagement with the ratchet wheel or to-hold the pawl in an intermediate or neutral position. As shown in Fig. 1, the pawl is in operative position for lifting the load and upon the upward movement of the lever the detent 20 will yield sufficiently to permit the lower set of teeth 17 to ride over the teeth of the ratchet wheel but upon the downward movement of the lever the pawl will be gripped between the ratchet wheel and the wall of the guideway with a wedging action so as to firmly connect the lever with the ratchet wheel and thus actuate the lifting mechanism. To lower the load by means, of the lever the pawl is reversed so that the upper set of teeth 18 will operatively engage the ratchet wheel upon the upwardmovement of the lever, thus operating the lifting mechanism in a reverse direction and lowering the load. The shaft 11 is also provided with a hand wheel, or knob, 22, by means of which the lifting element can be adjusted when the pawl is in its neutral position and there is no load on the lifting element. In order to facilitate and expedite the lowering of the load it is desirable that the mechanism should be of such a character that the lifting element will, when unrestrained, move downward under the weight of the load and that means be provided for controlling this downward movement of the lifting element. To accomplish this we have so arranged the pitch of the threads on the shank of the lifting element and in thenut that the weight of the load will impart movement to the nut and, consequently, to the worm wheel carried thereby, and we have also provided the worm wheel and the worm with spirals of such a pitch that the rotation.

of the worm wheel will serve to rotate the worm, thereby permitting the lifting mechanism to be rotated in a reverse direction by the weight of the load. To control this downward movement ofthe lifting element we have mounted on the worm shaft 11, on that side of the frame opposite the ratchet wheel 12, a suitable controlling device which will serve to retard the movement of the load to such an extent as to place the same absolutelyunder the control of the operator. By utilizing the power multiplying devices of the lifting mechanism to transmit the movement from the load to the controlling device, as the' load moves downward, we are enabled to employ a controlling device which requires but little power for its operation and which will easily hold an extremely heavy load against downward movement. This is due to the fact that the thrust of the load is to a large extent absorbed by the frictional contact between the screw threaded shank of the lifting element and the nut and between the worm and the worm wheel. The controlling device may take various forms but as shown in Figs. 2 to '5, it comprises a brake drum, preferably in the form of a disk 23, mounted on the end of the shaft 11 and adapted to rotate with that shaft when the load is lowered. looperating with the brake drum is a second brake member which preferably consists of two shoes 2e1- pivoted at 25, on one side of the drum, and having at their ends, on the opposite side of the drum, means for actuating the same. We prefer that the brake shoes should be normally set, that is, held in operative frictional contact with the brake drum and to this end the brake shoes at are shown as provided with parallel portions, or arms 26 extending outwardly therefrom and having openings through which extends a rod or a bolt 27 about which iscoiled a spring 28, this spring being confined. between one of the arms 26 and a nut 29 on the end of the bolt, and thereby tending to move the brake shoes one toward the other and causing them to exert pressure on the brake drum. To release the brake and permit the load to move downward the arms 26 are separated and this is accomplished in the present device by means of a stud 30 journaled in one wall of the casing 31 which encloses the controlling device and having its inner portion extending between the two arms 26 ofthe brake shoes and flattened as shown at 32, the flattened portion being arranged to lie normally parallel with the arms of the brake shoes. Consequently, when the stud is rotated it will engage the arms with a cam action and spread them apart, thereby permitting the frictional resistance to the rotation of the worm shaft to be wholly or partlyremoved. The stud is here shown as provided with an operatinghandle 33 arranged outside of the casing 31. Inasmuch as the brake is normally set it is necessary that some means be provided for disconnecting the brake from the worm shaft when the latter is operated in a direction to raise the load and we have, therefore. shown the brake drum 23 as mounted on the shaft in such a manner that it will be connected IBU therewith only when the shaft is rotatedin a direction to lower the load. Preferably, this is accomplished by interposing a one way clutch between the brake drum and the shaft. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the brake drum is rotatably mounted on a disk 34 rigidly secured to the shaft 11 and having in its periphery a series of tapered recesses 35 in each of which is arranged a roller 36 which is acted upon by a spring pressed plunger 87 tending to move the roller toward the small end of the tapered recess. The recesses are so arranged that when the shaft is rotated in a direction to elevate the lifting element the rollers will be moved toward the larger ends of the recesses and the shaft disconnected from the brake drum so that it can rotate freely therein in that direction.' I'Vhen the shaft is-rot'ated in the opposite direction, by the lowering of the load, the rollers will be moved toward the small ends of the recesses and will rigidly connect the shaft with the brake drum.

The clutch connection between the brake drum and the shaft 11 may take various forms and, as shown in F 7, the brake drum 38 is provided with flanges 39 at its inner and outer edges which engage shoulders, or recesses, 40, on the respective sides of the disk 41, which is rigidly secured to the shaft 11. The intermediate portion of the brake drum is provided with ratchet teeth 42 with which cooperate a plurality of spring pressed pawls 43 mounted in the disk and extending radially thereof, the pawls being so arranged that they will ride over the teeth when the shaft rotates in a direction to elevate the load and will engage the teeeth when the shaft rotates in the opposite direction. v

In Figs. 8 and 9 we have shown still an other form of the clutch mechanism. In this instance a brake drum 44 is mounted directly on the shaft 11 and the end of the shaft extends beyond the brake drum and has rigidly secured thereto a disk 45. The brake drum is provided on its outer surface with ratchet teeth 4i; with which cooperate spring pressed pawls 47 mounted in the di 45 and arranged parallel with the axis thereof. In both the forms shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the

brake shoes 26 areof the same construction and are operated in the same manner as they are in the form shown in Figs. 2' to 5.

In Figs. 10 to 12 weehave substituted for the brake a pawl and ratchet controlling device and as there shown, a ratchet. wheel 48 is rigidly secured to the end'of the shaft 11 and a pawl 49 is pivotally mounted adjacent to the ratchet wheel and is provided with an operating arm 50, extending about the ratchet wheel andfprojecting through an opening in the casing, where it is provided with handle 51. A spring 52 acts pawl normally in engagement with the ratchet wheel,'in which position it will-prevent-the rotation of the worm in a d1'rec-' tio'n' to lower the load. When the load is to bei-eweredthe ari'n50 is operated to disengage the dog from the ratchet wheel but as soon as released the dog will automatically engage the ratchet wheel and check the movement of the load. 1

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that wehave' provided a self-lowering jack of this kind in which the load will move downwardly by gravity but will be at all times under the perfect control of the operator. By utilizing the power multiplying devices of the lifting mechanism to transmit the movement from the downwardly moving lifting element to the controlling 'dev'ice we reduce the power as applied to the controlling device to such an extent that the latter can be very easily controlled'and a relatively light frictional contact wi llcheck the movement of a very heavy load. Further, by utilizing the lifting mechanism for this purpose the device is simplified and the necessity of providing additional mechanism is avoided.

While we have sh'ownand described certain embodiments of our invention we wish it t0 be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various modifications may occur to a person skilled in the art. Having now fully described our invention what we claim as new and des're to secure by Letters Patent is: p v 1. In a lifting jack, a frame adapted -t be suspended from a car journal, a lifting element carried by said frame and adapted to extend beneath the load to be lifted,

means to actuate said lifting element to elevate the load, said lifting element being of such a character that when unrestrained it will movedownward under the weight of so constructed and arranged that they will be in o'ved in a reverse direction by the downward movement of said lifting element,and

manually operable means to control said redevices.

8. Ina lifting, element, aframe adapted verse movement of said power multiplying the load, and manually operable means for iii to be suspended from a car journal, a lifting element carried by said frame and adapted to extend beneath the load to be lifted and when unrestrained to be moved downward by the weight of the load, an actuating device for said lifting element, power multiplying devices interposed between said actuating-device and said lift-ingelement and so constructed and arranged that they will be moved in a reverse direction by the downward movement of said lifting element, and a manually controlled brake connected with said power multiplying devices to control their movement in a reverse direction.

a. In a lifting element, a frame adapted to be suspended from a car journal, a lifting element carried by said frame and adapted to extend beneath the load to be lifted and when unrestrained to be moved downward by the weight of the load, an actuating device for said lifting element, power multiplying devices interposed between said actuating device and said lifting element and so constructed and arranged that they will be moved in a reverse direction by the downward movement of sandlifting element, a brake drum, means for connecting said brake drum with said power multiplying devicesgonly when the latter are moved in a. reverse direction, and a manually controlled friction element acting on said brake drum to retard its movement.

5. In a lifting jack, a frame adapted to be suspended from a car journal, a lifting element carried by said frame and adapted to extend beneath the load to be lifted, means to actuate said lifting element to elevate the load, said lifting element being of such a character that when unrestrained it will move downward under the weight of the load, a Worm wheel, means actuated by the downward movement of said lifting element to rotate said worm wheel, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapt ed to be rotated thereby, a rotatable member, means for connecting said rotatable member with said worm when the latter is rotated by said worm wheel, and manually operable means for controlling the rotation of said rotatable member by said worm.

6. In a lifi'ng jack, a frame adapted to be suspended from a car journal, a lifting element carried by said frame and adapted to extend beneath the load to be lifted, means to actuate said lifting element to elevate the load, said lifting element being of such a character that when unrestrained it will move downward under the weight of the load, a worm wheel, means actuated by the downward movement of said lifting element to rotate said worm wheel, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated'thereby, a rotatable member, a one way clutch connecting said rotatable member with said worm, and manually operable means to control the rotation of said rotat able member. v

T. In a lifting ack, a frame, a lifting element carried by said frame and having a screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in said frame to receive said threaded portion of said lifting element, the threads of said lifting element and said nut having such a pitch that the downward thrust of said lifting element will rotate said nut, a worm wheel connected with said. nut, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for actuating said worm to impart upward movement to said lifting element, and a device connected with said worm to control its movement by said worm wheel.

8. In a lifting iaclr, a frame, a lifting element carried by said frame and having a screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in I said frame to receive said threaded portion of sail lifting element, the threads of said lifting-element and saidnut having such a. aitch' that the downward thrust of said lifting element will rotate said nut, a worm wheel connected with said nut, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for actuating said worm to impart upward movement to said lifting element, a brake member, means for causing said brake member to be actuated by said worm only when the latter is rotated by said worm wheel, and a second bake member cooperating with the first brake member to control the rotation of said worm by said worm wheel.

9. In a lifting jack, a frame, a lifting element carried by said frame and having a screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in said frame to receive said threaded portion of said lifting element, the threads of said. lifting element and said nut having such a pitch that the downward thrust of said lifting elements will rotate said nut, a worm wheel connected with said nut, a worm meshing with said worm wheel an d adapted to be rotated thereliiy, means for actuating said worm to impart upward mo'e ment to said lifting element, a shaft connected with said worm wheel, a brake member rotatably mounted on said shaft, means to connect said brake member with said shaft when said worm is rotated by the downward movement of said lifting-element, and a second brake member cooperating with the first mentioned brake member to control the rotation of said worm. I

' 10. In a lifting jack, a frame, a lifting element carried by said frame and having a screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in said frame to receive said threaded portion of said liftingelement, the

. threads of said lifting element and said nut nut, a worm wheel connected with said nut, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for actuating said worm to impart upward movement to said lifting element, a shaft connected with said worm, a disk rotatably secured to said shaft, a brake drum rotatable about the axis of said shaft, and a one-way clutch to connect said brake drum with'said disk when said shaft is rotated by the downward movement of said lifting element.

11. In a lifting jack, a frame, a lifting element carried by said frame and having a screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in said frame to receive said threaded portion of said lifting element, the,

threads of said lifting element and said nut having such a pitch that the downward thrust of said lifting element will rotate said nut, a worm wheel connected with said nut, a. worm meshing with said worm Wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for actuating said Worm to impart upward movement tosaid lifting element, a shaft connected with said worm, disk rigidly secured to said shaft, a brake drum rotatablv mounted on said disk, a one way clutch interposed between said brake drum and said disk to cause the drum to rotate with the disk when the latter is rotated by the downward movement of said lifting element, and a brake member cooperating with said brake drum.

12. In a lifting jack, a frame, a lifting element mounted on said frame, means for imparting lifting movement to said lifting element, a Worm wheel so connected with said lifting element that it will be rotated I part lifting movement thereto and to be 'rotated thereby when said liftin element moves downwardly, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for rotating said worm in a direction to impart lifting movement to said nection between said brake drum and said lifting element, a b-rakedrum, a clutch conworm to causesaid drum to rotate with said,

worm when the latter is actuated by said worm wheel, and a brake member cooperating with said brake drum.

- 14. In a lifting jack, a frame, a liftingelementjcarried bysaid frame and having a it screw threaded portion, a nut rotatably mounted in said frame to receive said threaded portion of said liftingelement, the threads.

of said lifting element and saidnut having such a pitch that the downward thrust of said lifting element will rotate said nut, a

worm wheel connected withsaid nut, a worm meshing with said worm wheel and adapted to be rotated thereby, means for actuating said worm to impart upward movement to said lifting element, a ratchet wheel connected with said worm, a pawl held normally in engagement with said ratchet wheel,

and means for disengaging said pawl from said ratchet wheel. I

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures hereto.

CHARLES WILLIAM RIPSCH. JAMES c. DAWLEY. a 

